It would seem that Renault has some of its va-va-voom back, that early investment in EVs with Zoes and the like really paying dividends now people are more interested. The battery-powered Megane and Scenic have been well received, the reborn 4 looks cool, and now it’s been confirmed how much the most interesting car of the Renaulution - the 5 E-Tech - will cost when orders open in January.
£22,995 is the headline figure, or ‘lower than many people imagine’ according to Renault. That buys a 5 with 120hp, the urban range 40kWh battery (provisionally rated at 190 miles), and evolution spec. That means standard kit like 18–inch wheels, the 10.1-inch OpenR Link infotainment screen, rear parking sensors, LED lights all round and wireless smartphone mirroring. Most of the stuff you need, basically. And £23k compares pretty favourably with the £30k asked for an Allure-spec of Peugeot e-208, which boasts 136hp and a 50kWh battery. Probably the Citroen e-C3 will line up as the closest rival to an evolution-spec 5, with prices from £21,900 for a 44kWh, 199 WLTP miles Plus model.
The next step up for the Renault is to £24,995 and the techno model, still with the 40kWh battery and 120hp. That gets Google built into the infotainment (including DC charge preconditioning), a larger digital dash, the funky ‘5’ bonnet charging indicator, a rear-view camera and ambient lighting, plus it opens up the option to have two-tone paint. Easy to imagine a lot of customers skipping straight to techno, however appealing that entry price looks.
That’s because the more powerful 150hp motor is only available from techno spec, and exclusively with the 52kWh ‘comfort range’ battery expected to return 248 miles on the WLTP test. That’s £26,995, or the kick-off point for the MG 4 range in fact, for some idea of the current breadth of the sub-£30k EV space.
Top of the 5 E-Tech 100% electric range (good job it doesn’t need a boot badge) are the iconic models. Over techno they get the ‘chrono’ 18-inch wheels, heated wheel, heated seats, then lots of stuff that seems a bit much for a car of the 5’s ilk: hands-free parking, blind-spot warning, active driver assist and so on. The iconic costs £26,995 for a 120hp car with the 40kWh battery, or £28,995 as a 150hp, 52kWh variant. While options are likely to be a big deal when it comes to speccing a 5, what with the jazzy paint colours and two-tone possibilities, no prices for extras have yet been confirmed.
What has been formally announced, however, is availability: orders for the 5 E-Tech will be open from January, with demonstrators expected at Renault dealers from March, and first deliveries ‘expected shortly afterwards’. So don’t go getting that electric Mini just yet.